In the forest of Alpinon, Eliani quietly reads the scrolls that tell about The Lay of the Battle of Westgard. Suddenly, a sound disturbs her quiet haven; something is walking about and being the hunter she is, Eliani begins to stalk her prey.

Turisan knows from the beginning that he is being followed and figures whoever it is will get bored with his game and show himself. Expecting to see a guard, he is shocked to see a woman, a good-looking one at that. Suddenly his trip to see the Lord of Highstone gets a lot more interesting.

What begins as a simple message becomes so much more when Eliani and Turisan find themselves able to mindspeech, something that has been only a legend until this point. As these two become lovers, a new threat comes into the forefront. Shalár is the queen of the clan Darkshore, bloodthirsty and ready to reclaim her kingdom as the vampire ruler. Eliani and Turisan will have to work together as Shalár and the Alben mount an attack that may just be fatal.

The Betrayal is a fantastic journey to a unique and exotic land. There, Ms. Nagle shows us how her world is strange and out of the ordinary, making it very vivid. I love how Eliani is shown as a woman of her own, strong enough to be herself and mature enough to see that past mistakes cannot dictate her future life. Turisan is the perfect complement for his woman warrior: he brings calm to her temper. Dragging just a little in parts of the story, this nice expedition for peace against a wicked queen will complete any fantasy reader’s shelves.